Raysha
right|thumb|244px|Smoketrail The Barrens Born within the Barrens of Kalimdor and raised as a child very much within the care of the Earth Mother during the final years of the Tauren's nomadic existence, Raysha Thunderhorn is a Tauren of many skills and qualities indeed; a result of a somewhat varied string of professions and callings. The daughter of Bendingstalk and Echo Bloodhoof, perhaps Raysha's most notable attribute is that she is the slightly younger sister of Stamp Bloodhoof. At times overshadowed by her unconventional brother's odd claim to fame, she has never let this get in the way of her own goals and dreams, in fact often enjoying the peace and quiet it affords her while others doggedly pursue Stamp from one end of Kalimdor to the other. Like Stamp, Raysha was trained from an early age in the ways of the Warrior; a somewhat rare career for a female Tauren considering the domination by males at the role, but one that she took a shine to all the same. If Stamp was the sword, however, it can easily said that Raysha was the shield; the defense to her brother's offense. While Stamp tore into those who would threaten the Bloodhoof and the Earth Mother, Raysha would be the one to ensure that any retaliation would be impotent, dashed against walls of leather, chain, and plate. Thwarting the efforts of the vile Centaur and the equally maleficent Quillboar as her people attempted to survive forged Raysha's skill and drove her ambition, holding her through the dark times and aiding those around her when the Earth Mother finally blessed her people with the friendship that Warchief Thrall and the Orcs from beyond the ocean brought with them. Hyjal and Beyond Only eighteen when the events of Hyjal unfolded, Raysha was prevented from joining her people and instead assigned sentry duty at what was to become the site for Bloodhoof Village. Having been surrounded by the constant fear of conflict all her life, she had little complaint in regards to missing out on that which thwarted the Burning Legion, and spent much of her time following Hyjal trying her hand at herbalism and alchemy as she continued her training as a Warrior of the Horde. Of Stamp, Mottle, and the Earth Mother In the six years after Hyjal, Raysha become a somewhat notable Alchemist and Herbalist, finding her place within the ranks of the Bluffwatcher Braves of Thunder Bluff, spending most of her time upon the heights of her adopted home under the watchful eye of Cairne Bloofhoof and the rest of her people. However, when the fragile peace that she had become accustomed to finally broke into a cold war between the Horde and the Alliance, Raysha found conflict once again at her hooves. An attempt upon Cairne's life left her wounded with a broken arm and once again surrounded by death; namely that of a Tauren by the name of Mottle, whom Stamp had grown very close to. An event that forced the first step upon a path that Raysha had never dreamed to step down, and one that taught both her, and her brother, the meaning of injustice once more. While Stamp went on a crusade of vengeance to fill the hole left by Mottle's embrace of the Earth Mother, Raysha spent most of her time attempting to come to terms with all that she had witnessed in her short life. Though she had always done her duty without question, and at times even made a game of the constant conflict and pain that surrounded her people who sought only peace and serenity, she had never questioned the deeper aspects of the world around her. The how and the why of life and death had never seemed important, and any loss could be hidden behind a veil of ditzy wonderment and pragmatic denial. Thus as Stamp sought to heal the wounds within, Raysha put all her effort into healing those without, and seeking a better understanding of the Earth Mother she had always loved, but never understood. The Nature of Understanding As time passed, it became clear to Raysha that her careless attitude towards loss and the nature of life had a foolish pursuit indeed; a mask worn to the world that shrouded the reflection in the water with a creature different to that looking into it. When Stamp went to seek the shadow of that which was once their father, Raysha opted for a different approach, spending time with the Druids of the Cenarion Circle in the Moonglade and using that time to ask questions of the Earth Mother that she knew would never get a reply. She was absent during Stamp's encounter with the Dwarven Paladin Cups, and the Night Elf Hunter Zanthafir, fighting her own demons without the aid of the tangible arms and armor she had grown up with. In the aftermath of these events, it seemed that Stamp found understanding in the fact that his family extended beyond their estranged father. For Raysha? An understanding that the path of a Warrior was not hers to walk dawned upon her. As did the nature of life, death, and all that the Earth Mother watched over between the two. Thus, when the cracks within the clan she had held an attachment to - Storm Earth and Fire - began to show, Raysha didn't mind too much. She'd departed from the clan for the Moonglade as somewhat of a loner; upon her return the favor had been returned in kind, but Raysha had her understanding, her people, her brother, and the Earth Mother right behind her. What could go wrong? Returning to her post as a Bluffwatcher of Thunder Bluff, Raysha let the months that ran behind her slip by, missing out on many of Stamp's adventures that were to follow, yet making plans of her own all the while. The path of the Warrior was no longer hers to walk. The Thunderhorn When Stamp went missing following the collapse of Storm Earth and Fire, and during the Demon Space Paladins! episode of his life, Raysha spent most of her time in the company of the esteemed Hunters of the Thunderhorn Tribe. Skilled and dedicated to the nature of the hunt and the teachings of the Earth Mother in equal measure, Raysha found a connection with a people that she had never realized she lacked all her life. It seemed that this path - that of the Hunter - was to be her true calling; the embodiment of all that she had ever wished for, all that she had come to understand and respect about the world around her, and all that everything in her wake had built up to. Donating all of her old armor and weapons to the Bluffwatchers, Raysha embraced her Hunter's calling with more dedication than she had ever shown to anything before. So much so, in fact, that she was initiated into the Thunderhorn Tribe itself, securing her hooves deep within the roots of the Earth Mother's blessing and adopting everything that they had to teach her as much as they had adopted her. The Hunter and the Druid There is something to be said about spiritualistic clarity and the workings of the Earth Mother, for one often follows the other. So it was that Raysha found herself with a partner in crime who shared many of her beliefs, desires, and personality quirks; a Druid by the name of Ulaumao Longplain - a friend she had thought lost long before the Orcish arrival upon Kalimdor, and one she was thrilled to walk a path with. Raysha and Ulaumao have not so much walked that path together than ran down it at near reckless speed. They remain an excellent pairing, countering each other's strengths and weaknesses in flawless harmony. Two agents of the Earth Mother, bound together by fate. In the time that has followed since her embrace of the Thunderhorn, her partnership with Ulaumao, and her first steps towards her desired destination in life, Raysha has carved herself a reputation of being an excellent Ranger, Pathfinder, and - indeed - Sniper. Her new found passion for Engineering has made her many friends within the Goblin Experimental Engineering Korportation, veneration within the Steamwheedle Cartel, and a name with the Trade Princes of the Undermine. Her other companion in these travels appears to be a Ghost Saber by the name of Smoketrail; the spirit of a Frost Saber that - much in the same way a Shaman can walk between the realms of life and death - appears to have fully 'anchored' herself in the world of the living without severing all ties to that of the dead. No one is quite sure how Raysha and Ulaumao managed to gain such a special ally, but some within certain Shamanistic circles believe the cat to be a blessing from the Earth Mother herself. It remains to be seen as to what Raysha and her companions may accomplish in the future. The Dark Portal awaits, the Burning Legion have returned to Azeroth, and dark elements within the Steamwheedle Cartel cause distrust among alliances as they seek retribution against Stamp himself. Beyond the Dark Portal {Coming Soon!} =Awards= Category:TaurenCategory:HordeCategory:Hunter